The Black Haze
by Edra
Summary: Black Haze with a few tweaks and adjustments - largely follows the same script and plot. i just wanted to know what this story would be like in a typed form.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: A bit rough but I hope you e** **njoy reading!**

 **Disclaimer: who owns Black Haze? Not me. Ha ha. T_T**

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Prologue

 _"Listen closely. This is a story from a very long time ago. It begins with a king and the discovery of a door to another world. That king decided to open the door, not realising he'd be endangering the lives of all humans. Because once that doorway was opened… the demons began to enter. That's right. Beyond that door was a world where those demons resided. From the opened door came countless demons and the world was thrown into chaos. Hundreds of thousands of humans were lost and the world was painted red with their blood. Then, just when all hope was about to be lost, a human king pleaded to God, "Dear God, please give us the strength to drive away these evil demons."_

 _Suddenly, a brilliant light appeared through the heavens. The demons turned into smoke and disappeared. Afterwards, special marks started appearing on certain human beings that granted them special powers. As if it were God's gift. They were able to fight against the demons and balance the scales in the ongoing war. People started calling them magicians and worshipped them. And so peace was restored to the world once again. The marked humans began calling themselves magicians and were worshipped as the saviours of mankind. The restorer's of peace in the human world._

 _But hey… did you ever wonder whether it really was God who granted the king's wish…? That maybe… just maybe… the one that granted the king's wish wasn't actually God… but… the King of Demons…"_

~break~

His first memory was waking up in a cold, dark room to a woman's voice whispering to him. He only caught a few puzzling words, "… but… the King of demons…" and the feel of an icy cold hand cupping his cheek when a door opened to his left. The sudden switch from darkness to light made him blink twice. He glanced over to see a tall man panting in the doorway, staring at him with wide, pale blue eyes. The man looked like he'd seen a ghost.

His gaze went back to where he thought the woman had been and felt his heart stutter instead. The voice and hand weren't real – it had just been his imagination. Sitting across from him was a human skeleton. The flesh had been stripped bare; a tattered, dusty dress draped its frame and locks of hair still clung to its skull. Though the sockets were eyeless, they seemed to bore into his very soul.

The weight of manacles around his ankles registered vaguely in the back of his buzzing mind. The room was filled with other skeletons in a similar state. And he was the only one alive in there.

Chapter One

The horses trotted down the paved road, white manes gleaming in the light of the full moons as they pulled the carriage along. A pretty woman with golden tresses glared at the floor. "God, I'm so pissed," she muttered. Her assistant sat quietly opposite of her, counting down the seconds of blessed silence before – "They said it was a meeting for magicians!" The woman scoffed. "And only one or two showed up? What is that?"

Her assistant let out a nervous laugh. "But it was still a, ah, great performance. Everybody loved your singing, Seren –"

"Who cares?" Seren interrupted. Her expression of anger crumbled after a prolonged second and her assistant recognised the signs, quickly producing a handkerchief for her melodramatic mistress. "The Black Magician wasn't even there… and he's the most important one!" Seren cried bitterly, dabbing daintily at her watering eyes as to not to smudge her face paint. "Why do you think I went through all this trouble? Performing in front of those haughty nobles… ugh, he's so heartless…"

"Seren…" her assistant said with a dubious air.

"When will we get to our destination?" She waved a hand in the air, changing the topic abruptly. "I may as well walk there for how fast we are going."

Her assistant was well used to her mistress' abrupt mood swings. "A demon warning was issued for those passing through the Lupen Woods," she said patiently. "A few days ago, a demon ambushed a carriage there."

"Oh, please," Seren snorted. "You're saying we're taking the long way just because one measly carriage was attacked by one measly demon? Do you know how utterly exhausted I am? If I'm not in a soft bed in the next twelve hours, I'm liable to scream."

"Seren – " her assistant started.

But her mistress was already poking her head out of the carriage window, ordering the startled coachmen to take the route through the Lupen Woods.

~break~

Seren's assistant nibbled nervously on her lip. They were well into the Lupen Woods now and a sliver of unease ran through her as she gazed out the window into the murky darkness. The trees were so tall they blocked their view of the moons. "Mistress Seren? I-Is it just me or does everything look spookier than it should be?"

Seren rolled her eyes. "… If you keep saying stuff like that, I'm going to throw you out."

The ninny of frightened horses split through the night followed by the sudden rocking halt of their carriage and _crunch!_ noises. "What," Seren stuck her head through the window and her assistant peered over her shoulder. "What's going…" her voice trailed off as she took in the sight before the carriage.

A purple creature had one of their horses clamped in its bloody jaws, the other horse lying on the ground in a growing pool of blood, its belly mauled and legs twitching. The creature's head was slightly lowered, horns gleaming and diamond mark glowing red, and all six of its red eyes were trained on the carriage. Seren took in the claws on its braced forelegs, making easy gouges on the ground, and could feel the terror beginning to sweep through her.

Her assistant screamed at the horrifying visage and Seren's guards broke out of their stupor. "A demon!" one of them shouted, pulling on the reins of his horse. "A high ranked demon! We have to hurry and get awa –" Almost faster than her eye could follow, the demon had swiped out its foreleg, sending the guard flying into a nearby tree. The man lay crumpled and unmoving at the base of the trunk.

The demon's eyes narrowed and it let out a blood-chilling growl that froze everybody with fear. Another guard made a strangled sound, hands trembling as he prayed to somebody, "S-Save me…"

Seren flung herself back from the window, landing next to her assistant; not wanting to see what would happen to that gua –

The sickening sound of a body being crushed made her flinch. If they stayed still, maybe the demon wouldn't notice them.

When the demon clawed through the wall of her carriage like it was nothing, Seren clamped her hand over her assistant's mouth mid-scream, knowing sound would attract it. They stared through the hole in the carriage, only able to see the demon's leg. The glowing red light of its mark drew closer from above.

 _Why…?_ She thought to herself. _Why… is this happening to me?_

Its head finally appeared, sharp, jagged teeth bared; Seren could see her death in its red gaze. It disappeared from view but not a second later, something landed on the top of their carriage, rattling them.

 _Please._

The top of their carriage was ripped off, and Seren could do nothing but stare at the monstrous demon.

 _Anyone's fine…_

She could feel its breath on her face.

 _Just please save me!_

The demon roared and suddenly reared back. _Why was it…?_ Something splattered onto her face and her hand wiped it away in reflex. She looked down to find her fingers smeared with a blue liquid. Its blood?

Seren's eyes flew back to the demon just in time to hear a loud _shuuak!_ noise. There was a moment of suspension before the demon fell over, making the earth tremble beneath her. She stood on shaky feet, leaning on a piece of ruined carriage to help support herself. There was a person standing on top of the fallen demon. An obvious magician, dressed in black… _It couldn't be?_

"You… you are…" she stuttered over her words. "Could you be... the Black Magician…?" The man glanced over to her and she was struck by his cerulean eyes. The weapon he'd used to kill the demon was still in his hands. It looked like a cross of some kind – a magic cross? Tendrils of black magic were curling up from it. Wait, dark blue magic? It was hard to tell. "Y-Yeah… There's no doubt…" _It's definitely him!_ "You are, right?!"

The man stepped off the demon's carcass as though the height difference from the ground was nothing, landing lightly on his feet. His magical weapon had dissipated and he'd started walking in her direction. Seren instinctively stepped back, stammering, "S-So… I… Uh…"

He stopped right in front of her and Seren couldn't squeeze another word past her throat. It was the real life Black Magician

"… It'll be dangerous to go this way for a while…" He trailed off, gaze flickering to the side.

Seren blinked. That was not what she'd been thinking he would say. Seren imagined him asking her if she was okay, and her swooning into his arms… She looked into his eyes and realised she hadn't said anything for a solid ten seconds. "Uh, yes!" she blurted out as the blood rushed to her face. Seren really hoped her darker skin tone wouldn't let it show.

"Also…" he hesitated.

"Yea – yes?!" The man was as attractive as the rumours said he was, her mind sighed in appreciation.

"I'm sorry for asking this in such a situation but…"

Seren thought she was about to faint. Was anyone going to believe she'd met him?

He brought his fist to his mouth and let out a little cough, "… Could you do me a favour?"

Mother Nature decided to send a breeze their way and Seren could almost feel the metaphorical arrows hitting her heart as it artfully tousled the man's hair. "Yes! Of course!" She clasped her hands together at her sternum, the perfect picture of eager and willing. "Anything!"

The Black Magician looked at the ground, hair falling into his eyes and masking his face of reluctance. He shifted his weight from leg to leg and finally took something out of his cloak. "Here," he said, yielding over a pen and paper. "Could I have… a signature…" his shoulders slumped. "Please…?"

Seren floundered for a minute. "… That's it?" she finally asked, more than a little disappointed that that was all he seemed to want.

"Ah, could you also write…"

~break~

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 **AN: Remember to let me know what you think about this! Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Their eyes tracked his movement through the hall. They tittered annoyingly behind their hands, as though that would somehow prevent him from hearing them – someone even pointed at him!

"Whoa, look, it's the Black Magician..."

"The famous..."

"... Is he coming back from a mission?"

"Do you think I could try talking to him –"

A familiar thought drifted into his head as he kept his stare ahead, thankful his hooded cloak shielded him as effectively as a glare did. _I hate places with so many people._

His reputation drew attention to him like a light source drew insects but simultaneously acted as a buffer between him and the people. They were usually either too shy or too intimidated to try stopping him for a talk. Didn't mean he felt any less comfortable. _This is why I didn't want to come through the front door_. He preferred the back way, but when he'd gone there, he'd found it barred with a note stuck to it that had said, "If you are not a thief or an animal, please use the front door". For moment, he'd wondered what the bastard would say if he punched a hole through the back door but he'd quickly resigned himself to walking through the halls of Opion.

"Ro – Ah, Blow! Why're you here at this hour?"

Blow stopped midstride and turned his head. "Ms Ren," he greeted weakly.

Her copper coloured eyes were studying him with bemusement. "Are you here to debrief on your mission?"

"Yes," he grumbled, remembering the events of that night. "It was a bad mission."

Ms Ren laughed, giving him a grin. "So you _did_ do it."

"What else could I do…?" Blow was on his way to a dark mood when he noticed the stack of papers in Ms Ren's arms. "What are you holding?"

"What?" Her face froze for a second before she gaily laughed again. "Oh this? It's nothing!" She nodded her head back the way Blow had come and started backing away. "I've got to go. Master should be in his office! Let's eat lunch or something sometime soon, okay?"

Blow resisted the urge to arch a brow. "Sure."

"See you, Blow!" And as Ms Ren hurried off, one of her papers fell to the floor, right in front of Blow.

"Ms Ren! You dropped –" Blow froze when he caught sight of what exactly was on that paper, mouth slightly agape. It was a poster of him holding a fucking rose! He couldn't remember ever posing for this. Blow's eyes flew over the words and he couldn't believe what he was reading:

 _"Just for you! I'll take any request as the Black Magician."_

 _"The centre of attention! The Black Magician Blow always on standby! Mission requests sent to Opion."_

He stood in a rush, scrunching the flyer in his hand, his face stoic.

"Blow!" Ms Ren shouted, dropping the flyers everywhere as she began to panic. "You saw it? You've seen it?

Everybody in the hall was silent as they watched the Black Magician bare his teeth in a smile. "Is this…" he waved the semi-crushed flyer around. "Master's doing?"

Ms Ren ran a hand through her red-brown locks and and avoided Blow's eyes. She could feel herself sweating. "Ah... yeah... that's –"

Blow moved fast, disappearing around the corner almost before the words had left her mouth. "W-Wait!" Ms Ren cried, but it was too late. "Ah... It was supposed to be a secret..." She stood immobile in the hall, wishing she hadn't talked to Blow today at all.

~break~

Blow didn't even bother to knock, choosing instead to kick open the door. It hit the wall with a loud bang and the man at the desk lowered his cup. "Hmm…? What – who's kicking down the doo –" A piece of paper unexpectedly hit the man's face, making him jolt in surprise and slosh his drink. His drink was place down, safe on the table, and he patted his head, despite the lack of any injury. "What?" He repeated with bewilderment. The man looked up and blinked. "Eh? Blow?" He jumped up, a smile stretching across his face. "You're here! I was waiting for you…" The grin slipped off as he registered Blow's dark expression. "… What's wrong? Did somebody bully you on the way here?"

Pointing a finger at the man, Blow couldn't contain his anger. "You're the one bullying me!" he accused. "Look at that thing!"

"This?" Master said, glancing down at the paper in his hand. He stared blankly at it for a second before pivoting around, swiftly opening the window and letting the wind take it from him. Blow was so flabbergasted that all he could do was stare. The man brought a hand up to shade his eyes from the early afternoon sun. He _laughed_. "It's gone – I don't know what you're telling me to look at."

Blow couldn't believe the audacity of Master. He was almost struck speechless. "Are you…" he started. "… _kidding me?!_ Making something like that without my permission…!" Blow released a little growl, thinking about his unwanted fan club and their star-struck eyes. "It's already noisy enough wherever I go!" He covered his face with his hand, hunching his shoulders over, muttering, "God… It's… _so_ embarrassing… I can't even lift my head up!"

The care-free chuckle from Master made him bristle. "Our star Blow gets embarrassed quite… easily –" Another piece of paper hit his face so he caught it and quickly scanned its contents. Master's eyebrows rose. "Oh!" Blow could practically see the sparkles in his eyes. "You succeeded! Getting an autograph from Seren…"

Annoyed, Blow cut him off and gritted out, "This is the last time." Master looked at him, uncomprehending, so he glared and elaborated. "That I do some stupid errand as a mission."

Master shook his head ruefully. "No can do…" he opened a drawer beneath his desk and took out a stack of papers as high as the length of his forearm – maybe even higher – dropping it onto the desk with a slap, shuffling through a few of them. "There's… finding Ms. Elle's lost puppy, delivering Lucy's heart-throbbing love letter… and so many others are waiting for you!"

"Shut it!" Blow barked out.

"But I'm surprised you got it, Seren is known for being bad tempered and hating strangers," Master said. He smelt the signed paper, nodding absent-mindedly. "As expected, this smells great."

Bad tempered…? "She didn't look bad tempered at all… maybe she'd been amicable because she'd just been attacked…?" Blow frowned at his Master, who was still sniffing at the scented paper. "There's demon blood on that."

Master held the paper a respectable distance away from his noise, shock colouring his fair features. "What? Attacked?" he exclaimed, eyes glazing over as he thought of the musician. "But the area she works in is a safe zone, isn't it? Did she meet bandits or something?

"No, it was a demon." Blow thought back to the incident. "A demon of high rank at that… It wasn't all that strong but for something like that to just pop out in an area protected by the Tower... strange, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it really is." Master sighed, falling back into his chair. He leaned his elbows on the desk, clasping his hands beneath his chin. "I'm going to need to look into this. But, on the other hand... to think you'd get an autograph at a time like that... Blow... you're quite –"

Blow interrupted, still smarting over being sent on such a boy's task. "It was on your orders!"

Master cleared his throat. "Anyway... How long are you going to stay in that form, Rood?"

"I have more than enough mana since _s_ _ome_ body keeps giving me stupid missions." He lifted the hood of his cloak back, glaring at the man behind the desk who... was just nodding in agreement! Blow brought up his right hand, and his blue-black mana appeared, flickering like a real flame. "My name is Blow," he uttered, feeling more than anything his mana withdrawing inside of him even as to Master, it looked as though he was being engulfed by it. "Awakening, end." The mark on his right hand flashed silver blue for a moment, seen faintly even through his leather gloves, and it warmed his whole body like he'd stepped in front of a working fireplace.

The cloud of mana lifted from him slowly as Master watched avidly. The difference in appearance that Rood had to his awakened counterpart still amazed him. Light, golden blond hair, indigo-blue eyes... the most striking being physical stature. Rood had the body of a young teen and had yet to grow to his full height, topping out at around five foot three or four while Blow's form was a little shy of six feet. Speaking of... "Rood," Master said in pleasant surprise, stroking his imaginary beard. "You've grown taller since the last time we met."

Rood lifted a hand to his head, feeling self-conscious as he always was when it came to his height. "... Really?" His eyes narrowed at the subtle change their conversation had taken so he strode up to the desk, leaning forward and slapping a hand onto it. "I got the autograph!" he declared, making eye contact with Master. "Now give me a proper mission!" Somehow, Rood held the stare without blinking but Master just returned it, all the while smiling.

Finally disconcerted, he asked, "What –"

"Rood."

Rood shut his mouth at Master's serious tone.

"After that day," Master began reluctantly, crossing his arms and settling into his chair. "The people as well as the magicians are out looking for you. Shic from the Magician's Association is especially out to get you. From now on... it's going to get even more dangerous; it'll be different from how it's always been. I'm... honestly worried about that."

Rood wasn't too sure, but he thought he felt his right eye twitch. "You say that, Master..." He held up the spare flyer he'd hidden in his cloak. "And you make something like this?"

"You've got more?!" Master said in disbelief.

He crumpled the stupid flyer and levelled Master with a knowing look. "Scrap the dumb talk. Are you going to give it to me or not?"

"... Well..." The man dropped his gaze and started drawing god damn patterns on his desk with his finger – like he was a shy eight year old girl instead of a fully grown man! "There is this one big thing... There's an auction house that opens once every two months. It only deals in scarce and rare items. There are rumours that a magic stone with a Name will make an appearance in the upcoming auction."

Rood inclined his head in understanding. "A high class magic stone then..." Those were always coveted.

"Yeah," Master confirmed. "The only problem is that other magicians have this information as well. Do you understand what this means?" He grinned. "This mission might get quite interesting."

~break~

A while after Rood had already left, Opion's Master stood by the window, completely ignoring the remarkable view he had of the flourishing garden. His thoughts were consumed by the permission permit for one Rood Chrishi that he held in his hand. ... Age of fourteen years, ability type of and specialist in darkness... On the bottom of the embellished slip were the words "Admission is permitted." and the golden Helios school emblem.

"...I couldn't even show him. If he saw this... he'd get _really_ mad at me..." Master bowed his head, guilt and the need to shield and protect eating away inside of him. How was he supposed to get Rood to agree to something like this?

~break~

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 **AN: It's surprisingly difficult to think of a good way to describe the visual, physical and mental effects of the magic in black haze. I may or may not change the rough interpretation of it in this chapter later ;_;**

 **Let me know what you think, thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three (and Four)

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting." The male voice, empowered and amplified by magic, broke over the room, inducing a wave of silence to follow. All eyes turned to the man standing on the dais, a wall of guards behind him. "The auction," he smiled. "Is now beginning."

Ms Ren let out a low whistle from the balcony at which she and Rood were observing the crowd. "There's so many people," she murmured. "I guess Shajarn's Heart really is amazing, huh?"

"Well..." Rood sneaked a glance at Ms Ren. She was wearing a red strapless number, a fur shawl draped over one shoulder and the many golden rings on her fingers were inset with jewels that gleamed wickedly. All in all, Ms Ren looked absolutely stunning, drawing the gaze of many who had passed by them. He turned his gaze back to the floor below them, hands tightening on the rail as he took in the view. He was a little surprised no one had questioned him about having the hood of his jacket up. "... High class magic stones are rare."

Ms Ren snorted at the obvious statement. Everybody knew that.

"Moreover, there really is quite a few people here."

Was that worry she was detecting? "... You really sure you'll be fine, Mr Black Magician?" she teased with a smile.

Rood eyes swept yet again over the first floor, taking in the dresses and coiffures and suits and guards. "Hm... I should be." He ran his tongue over his teeth. "The reason I'm here is somewhat different to the reason they're here... I mean, I'm here to..." Rood was suddenly feeling dejected. All this power and this was what he was using it for? It wasn't even going to be a proper challenge.

"Rood?" Ms Ren asked with concern.

 _'It might be interesting,' he says._ Rood glared at the statue up on the dais and called up the memory of the talk between him and Master.

~break~

"So what's the mission?" he'd asked.

"The client wants revenge against someone who is going to be at that auction."

"Revenge?" You have got to be kidding.

"Yeah," Master held up a piece of paper. "Some evil magician really messed up their life. So their request is that we give that certain someone a punishment that befits the crime." He handed it over to Rood. "From what we know, he changes girls several times a day, blah, blah, blah – you're typical back-stabbing villain, really. ... So what do you think?"

Dan Marshell was a 32 year old male who's awakened name was Cloak. He had no known associates and was a... third rank magician? "This magician..." Rood voiced, continuing to read. "He isn't so weak, is he?" There was a mark against his name, indicating he'd received an official warning from the Tower.

"That's why I'm asking you what you think, you know," Master nodded, smiling.

Rood frowned and studied Master. "You're... You're not asking me to kill him, are you?"

"Of course not." The man chuckled and flapped his hand. "Ah, if life were that easy... Unfortunately, we can't kill him just like that."

"... How come?" Rood was feeling suspicious.

"The presence of a high class magic stone will attract a big audience. Whether they're participating in the auction, just spectating or have some other ulterior motive is not our concern as of yet but they will be there, and hence will be witness to anything you attempt. So first, when you find our target... I want you to hold him..."

Hold him and...? Rood thought about what Master might tell him to do. Stab his eyes? Get into a physical brawl with him? Grab him and rip his arms off? Strangle him?!

"... Take his pants off." Master deadpanned.

Surely, he hadn't heard right. "... What." he said flatly.

"Take his pants off." Master repeated, smiling and nodding slightly.

"What? N-No!" Rood spluttered in outrage, ripping the paper. "Why me? No! Absolutely not!"

"Huh? Why?" Master looked alarmed. "It's not like I told you to kill him, just take his pants off!"

"Are you... _for real_?!" he exclaimed. "Why take his pants off? Why? What... What kind of revenge...!" Rood had no words. He was baffled.

"Whoa," Master held up his hands in a placating manner. "It's what the client requested. They just want to humiliate him."

"What about the humiliation _I'll_ be getting?" he protested.

"You know," Master said long-suffering. "Not just anyone can literally pull the pants off a third rank magician. It's you who's making this a possible option for the client. We both know you can do it."

"... Is that a compliment or an insult?! And don't ignore my question!"

"Thank you again for all your hard work," Master flapped his hand again and giggled, waggling his eyebrows lewdly. "Opion's very own _superstar_."

Rood calmly took off his backpack and then violently threw it – aiming for Master's big, fat head – crying out, "I never said I'd do it! And don't call me that!"

~break~

"... Are you really okay?"

Ms Ren's words brought him back to the present and he almost felt like crying, thinking about the task at hand. "I'll do it somehow," he mumbled to himself, feeling more than slightly depressed that people would _see_ _him_ do it. "Somehow..."

~break~

Yutiarien Meria Kansiole laughed blithely on the other side of the room, taking in the marvellous scene with her emerald green eyes. "I'm so excited!" she proclaimed as she eagerly leaned over the balcony rail. "There's so many people!" She wanted to be down _there_ , not stuck up here observing.

A hand quickly grabbed onto her clothing, preventing her from going any further. "You'll fall like that." Her imperial guard, Rom, stated. Yuti could just imagine the stern look he'd give her over his spectacles. "... Princess, you know we aren't here to play around. We're just watching."

"But..." Yuti grumbled with disappointment, crouched down so only her eyes and above could be seen over the top of the railing. Her hair was a beacon in settings like this, yellow blonde that faded into pink ends signifying her blood lineage as that of a Kansiole. "I just _know_ something fun is about to happen." And she was going to miss out! "Don't you think so, Tessi?" she called over her shoulder. When no response came, she turned around and found her other guard, who was currently leaning against a pillar and – "You're asleep?!"

She couldn't help the snicker that came out of her mouth. How could Tessi sleep at a time like this?

~break~

The young man watched as the people around him chattered away, creating a din of noise that effectively drowned out individual words. He was beginning to feel antsy with the wait for the reveal of Shajarn's Heart. The magical properties of such a high class magic stone... he'd yet to see one in person. When his father had mentioned the rumours of it appearing here, he'd immediately jumped at the chance to come. His apparent lack of strength in his magical ability didn't stop him from excelling in its theory. While these types of magical stones were rare, they weren't exceedingly so. It just so happened that anyone who had one in their possession were loathe to let anybody see them, lest it be stolen from right under their nose. Shajarn's Heart had immense magical properties, having been infused with the power of a magician of the first rank. He wondered how this auction place had gotten their hands onto such a stone for tonight... Maybe it was just a fake?

"Lapis." The crisp voice came from his right.

He stood straighter in his position beside his seated father, perking up. "Focus and look closely," his father said without looking at him. "With this many magicians gathered in one place... something interesting will happen for sure."

Lapis took a deep breath. "... Yes, father." This was the first time his father had spoken to him since they'd entered the place.

Ignoring the twinge in his chest, Lapis studiously kept his eyes on the crowd but in the back of his mind he wondered if being here with all these accomplished magician's around them only made the fact blatantly clear that Lapis, the only heir to the dukedom, might never become one.

 _I_ will _become a magician._

~break~

Van blinked at the pile of leaves on the floor. Another one was plucked and he watched, a little transfixed, as it fluttered down to the growing pile. "Hey, Shic," he said, shaking himself out of the trance.

Shicmuon, the certified crazy bastard, was sitting against the wall, steadily plucking the leaves one by one off a branch. With each that was pulled off, he was muttering the phrases "he'll come" and "he won't come". He was in his awakened form with his deep red hair and gleaming ruby eyes, and at that moment, he seemed to be completely engrossed with what he was doing. He wore the Association's navy shoulder cape, with its amber-gold embroideries intact. Last time, he'd thrown it away straight after leaving Lanoste's office. "Our mission today is to protect the magic stone, you got that?" Van asked irritably.

When Shic continued to ignore him, simply stripping the branch of its poor leaves, Van pressed his lips together. _I told myself I wouldn't yell at him today_. But the infuriating man was just... so... damned _infuriating!_

"Hey!" he snapped out. "Shi –"

"Ah," Shic nodded curtly, intense gaze focused on his branch. "I know, old man."

Van's head jerked back, feeling the familiar pull of Shic-induced anger. "Who the hell are you calling an old man!" he barked. ... And he was ignored! _Argh!_

An expression of glee came over Shic's face as he plucked the last leaf. "He'll come!" he said, body glowing as he was unable to contain his excitement or his red mana from seeping out. He smirked, clenching his fist and snapping the branch in his hand easily. "He'll come." Shic repeated. The dark chuckle that followed drained Van of most of his anger and replaced it with concern. Just who was he talking about?

~break~

"... Noble Leat's Necklace will go to the beautiful, young miss over there. Congratulations." The auctioneer smiled. "Next up... What I'm sure you've all been eagerly awaiting for... today's main item." Ren's interest sharpened at his words. She'd been getting bored with the line up of jewels and artefacts and whatnot and she could tell the audience had been too. Now, nobody seemed to pay any attention to the assistant, their eyes instead glued to the cloth covered glass box she placed on the table.

"This item is very precious and it was very hard for us to obtain. But obtained it, we have." the auctioneer stated grandly. "A high class magic stone infused with the power of the Great Magician Shajarno, I present to you, Shajarn's Heart!" With a flourish, he ripped off the cloth, bathing the immediate area around him in a golden light. Quiet chatter exploded all over the room as the stone radiated with its brilliance. "Look at this marvellous light! Can't you feel the the great power just by looking at it?"

Ren could barely make out the fist (of a large man) sized stone in its case, squinting to try and see better. "So, have you found your target?" she murmured to Rood offhandedly, still watching the dais. Ren turned to Rood to discuss how he'd complete the mission but was exasperated to find him also captivated by the magic stone. "Hey!" she snapped.

Rood continued to look dazed. "I want it." he declared.

"Rood!"

Sighing, he tore his eyes away from the absolutely stunning magic stone and scanned the crowd. "... No, I can't," he answered belatedly. "Everybody's auras are mixed up... You know, he might not even be here because of... unforeseen accidents."

"No way," Ren snorted. "Don't try to avoid reality. He's here and you're going to complete this mission."

Rood sighed, deciding he couldn't drag his feet any longer. "Then I guess I'll get ready." The quicker he did this, the quicker he could do some very selective memory loss. He pulled one of the tied up drapes free from the pillar, hiding himself from view and relaxed, letting his mana unravel from inside his body. "My name is Blow," he said, anticipating the powerful rush of becoming his counterpart. "Awaken." The mark on his hand flashed bright and his mana, now unrestrained, burst forth to surround him.

"It's still surprising every time I see it." Ren noted. "I've never seen a magician change so much like you." It didn't get any less fascinating to watch despite her having seen the whole maybe-three-second process multiple times. "How can such a kid awaken into such a handsome young man?" she said, tongue-in-cheek. Although, to be honest, he really was quite handsome. His looks _did_ contribute to his growing fan base. A handsome, young magician? Who was extremely proficient in the art of magic? Why, what lady or man would be able to resist him?

Rood's (she didn't think she could ever really think of him as Blow) mana dissipated, and he smiled balefully at her. "Sorry for being a kid."

If looks could kill... "Oh my," She brought a hand up to her mouth, unable to really hide her growing smile. "It was a joke, a joke." He was seriously making his buttons too easy to push. Ren cleared her throat. "How's your mana?"

"It's fine," Rood turned back to searching the people, sensing something that pinged on his magical radar. "It's here." he muttered, narrowing his eyes.

"What?" Ren was thoroughly puzzled at his words. "What's –"

There was a sudden crash of what sounded like glass, cries of alarm and confusion rising amidst the crowd. A crouched man had appeared at the bottom of the steps that lead up to the dais; he was completely surrounded by the guards, their sharp magical spears pointed at him. The man began to laugh, almost cackling, really. "What's that?" Ren asked, bemused. "Is he mad?" He had straw coloured hair that was tied back, awakened eyes glowed a neon red and a sleeveless tunic revealed lean, toned arms.

"The magic stone," he unexpectedly began, causing some of the guards to flinch. "Is ours!" White rings emanated from the man and was able to reach the guards before they could react. Some stumbled and cried out, the magic seeming to affect their equilibrium. The whistling sound of an object flying through the air registered and Ren almost swore when she blinked and the guards were already toppling, one by one, blood spurting from violent gashes on their torso's. Straw stayed crouched where he was, not even flinching.

Ren glanced worriedly at Rood, who was calmly observing the spectacle happening below. Rood... wasn't going to leap to the rescue so she resigned herself to following his lead.

Down below, another man had appeared but this time on the dais. He held the weapon in his hand, his yellow bodily glow indicating his status as a magician. Ren hadn't seen such a weapon in person before; a large, razor sharp curved blade with a handle attached for comfortable use. Magically enhanced to do twice the destructive power. Despite the glow that encased it, Ren could still see the blood of the fallen guards dripping off of it. The man holding it had dark ash brown hair, also tied back, and a scar running down the left side of his face. There was a moment of silence, not so much as a scream from the audience, broken only by the moans of wounded guards who were still alive. "... Really," Ren could almost physically feel the contempt in Scarface's words as he addressed the scared-mute auctioneer. "It's so boring. I don't think I could have waited any longer."

Straw bounded up the stairs, grinning. "So, we'll be taking the magic stone –" His words cut off as yet another man appeared, grabbing Straw's wrist and halting his movement. Ren frowned as she studied the newcomer. If she wasn't mistaken... the ears and tail of a brown furred beast...

"W-What... Who are...?" Straw was clearly taken aback and Ren almost rolled her eyes. _What an utterly clumsy thief_.

A shout of pain left Straw's mouth as he recoiled backwards, stumbling and falling over. "Fuck! My arm!" Straw spat, face twisted in pain. He narrowed his gaze to the magician who'd injured him, cradling his arm. Ren couldn't believe what a baby the man was, unable to even take a... probably fractured wrist, she guessed, without throwing a tantrum. Generally, magician's had greater physical strength and speed than those without a mark. Pain thresholds were higher, senses were magnified and their injuries healed at a faster rate. A fractured wrist was something easily ignored... but then again, every magician was different and they _had_ taken down the guards without breaking a sweat –

" – the Association's magician!" The loud voice penetrated Ren's thoughts and it was just in time for her to hear the crowd speaking again.

"The Association...?"

"Who is it though..."

"A beast's ears and tail... There's only one famous magician with those..."

"Who was it? I knew he was..."

"Ah, I remember!" a man lost in the throng of people exclaimed. "The Association's loyal dog! Lanoste's Dog!"

Ren watched, fascinated, as the man's dog ears twitched and swivelled around. "Dog!" he suddenly yelled with outrage, hands curled into fists as he stalked closer to the people. "I'm not a dog, you fucking bastards!" His eyes swept over them, glinting. "Who the fuck called me a dog, huh? Who!"

Scarface shifted, drawing Ren's attention, his face set into a scowl. He muttered something that was lost, even to her sensitive ears, and then he threw his weapon, simultaneously screaming, "Die!"

She gasped because she knew Lanoste's Dog (she couldn't remember his name) wasn't going to be able to dodge, even as he began to turn around. And so Ren watched in absolute amazement as it hit the back of his head with a dull clang and spun off to the floor.

Dog crouched down, hands rubbing the back of his head. "Ow, fuck! My head!" he hissed as Scarface and Straw watched on in disbelief. The two men began whispering to each other about something, Straw gesturing angrily at Dog.

"Hey," Dog called out, visibly startling them. He looked over his shoulder, eyes glinting with his faintly orange coloured mana. "That fucking _hurt_."

Scarface took a step back, arm raised defensively. He'd lost his cool expression and was looking very nervous.

"Heh," Ren was thoroughly amused as she watched the would-be thieves get their asses kicked. "I thought all their magician's were a bunch of weaklings but turns out I was wrong, although... the Association's magician is... weird. What a strange –"

"Ms Ren." Rood said abruptly. "Look closely... That person... That day... he was the magician that was with him."

"What?" Ren asked sharply, knowing exactly who Rood was referring to and growing alarmed. "Then it could be that he's –"

"Now, now." Lanoste's Dog stood on the dais, the two intruders unconscious below the steps. "The magician's in this room, please listen." He announced with a smile. "I understand that you're all excited about the high class magic stone but... if you do something stupid, this will not end well for you. Please stay calm until this auction is over. Anyone who tries to touch the magic stone really won't have a fun time with me." The smile slipped off his face when he heard something happening behind him, the snapping sound of volatile magic cutting through all of it. Dog pivoted and froze in shock at the sight of the young, red-haired man holding the magic stone _he'd just told everyone not to touch_. "Hey!" he yelled, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Shic! What the hell are you doing?!"

Ren flicked her eyes over to Rood and his expression was foreboding. "He's actually... here," he said gravely. She turned her attention back to... Dan? No, wait it was... Van! She'd finally remembered his name. Ren dismissed him for the moment and moved onto... Shicmuon. The Association's infamous Shicmuon. The rumours surrounding him were so outlandish that Ren thought most of them to be true. It painted the young man as a temperamental and vicious character.

Shicmuon walked over to the statue on the dais, still holding Shajarn's Heart. "Hey! What do you think you're doing with that?!" Van berated, following him. The red head leapt, landing on the top of the statue and making it look quite effortless.

Ren chewed on her lower lip, worried about what might happen now that this wildcard had shown up to play.

~break~

Blow could hear the idiot laughing. He could even hear his stupid ramblings. "...I can feel it... I can feel it."

"That guy!" ...Aaand now his manic voice could be heard by everybody. Blow wanted to punch him. "That guy's annoying fucking energy!" Then that damned Shicmuon of the Magician's Association held up the magic stone. "Oi, Blackie!" he called out, malicious gaze searching the groups of people. "This must be your target too, right?" He waved it around. "If you want it... Come out and fucking get it!"

Confused chatter broke out from the crowd and Blow just wanted to slink away quietly.

"He's crazy..." Ms Ren muttered beside him. "And by 'Blackie', does he mean..."

"Don't speak of it." Blow said, hunching his shoulders. The Black Magician was bad enough but he particularly hated that stupid nickname. Shicmuon was the only one to call him that.

"If you don't... this?" Shicmuon pointed at the magic stone in his hand. "I'll eat it."

 _Eat it._ _Just fucking eat it. My target isn't even_ –

"Blow," Ms Ren said, wide eyed at the scene before her. "This... thing's gotten a bit more complicated than anticipated. Seeing Shicmuon... it won't turn out well if he sees you. Let's just leave, this mission was dumb, anyway..."

"... No. I can't abandon this mission just because of a flea like him." Blow replied firmly. He narrowed his eyes and added on as an afterthought, "It is dumb, though."

"Him," Ms Ren said incredulously, gesturing subtly at the man on the statue. "A flea?"

"A red flea." Blow amended, nodding his head.

"Ha, you're so stubborn." Ms Ren rubbed the bridge of her nose, letting out a little sigh. "Sure, whatever. Go ahead."

~break~

Amongst the crowd, two men spoke softly to each other.

"This is... This is the first high class magic stone that's appeared in public in years... I was expecting something but... it's fucking Shicmuon! I'm not willing to attack him. He'd kill me."

"Well.. what if all the magicians attacked at once?"

"No way. He's in a totally different league to us."

"Eh... I guess..."

"He's that guy from the Association, you know. The crazy one. Trust me, we wouldn't be able to take him down. I mean... maybe if the Black Magician were here, there'd be a chance... but who else would be strong enough to fight against Shic?"

On the heel of his words, a woman with long blue hair strode past them, making a clear beeline for the dais.

"Who was that?"

"I... don't know. Let's just get out of here before anything bad happens, man. I'm not sacrificing my life for a magic stone, I don't care how rare it is."

~break~

"... What?" Shic muttered to himself. "Why aren't you coming out? ... You shouldn't be scared... so why are you trying to play hide and seek?"

"Shic!" Van barked from the base of the statue. "You fucking idiot! Stop what you're doing and get the fuck down here!"

Shic looked down his nose, squinting at Van before turning his head away. "You can go home now, old man. You're in the way – and noisy, too."

"Really – you –" Van had no words. "Do you want me to fucking kill you?! Is that it?!" If he could have the chance to just wrap his hands around that bastard's neck, he would be able to die in blissful happiness.

The ringing sound of a sword leaving it's scabbard registered instantaneously to their honed senses, as the did the resounding crack of the statue as it began to topple over. Van watched, open mouthed, as Shic landed on his feet a safe distance away. _What was happening now, for God's sake..._!

Van spotted the culprit as the statue hit the ground with a dust-producing _boom!_

A slender woman... long, blue hair... the strength to cut down a solid statue with one swing of her sword...

"I," she started, looking over her shoulder at him. "Came to participate in the auction, fairly. ... I even brought a silver..."

Van looked around, mouth still hanging, to see if anyone else had heard what she was saying. _You can't even buy anything here with one silver?!_

She stood and faced him. "But –"

Van had seen Shic move before and as always, he was left impressed with the speed and force with which he moved. The bastard had grabbed the woman by her throat but, to Van's amazement, she didn't stop speaking. "... You're in my way." she stated calmly. "You –"

"No." Shic cut her off. His mana began to emanate again, a sign he was getting intensely emotional and Van took a step forward, wanting to intervene but not really knowing how the other magician would react. " _You're_ in my way," Shic snarled. "You fucking piece of shit."

"Ah..." Van felt his beast ears swivel down. He wanted to sink to the floor, curl up into a little ball and pretend everything Shic was about to do was just part of a bad dream. He settled for whimpering instead. "This mission... is so totally fucking screwed."

~break~

"Ho... Where do you think that blue-haired woman came from?" Ren was actually really eager to see a fight between two competent magician's. Working as a secretary didn't afford her many opportunities to see magical combat. And that woman looked at least semi-competent. "Hmm... this is good for us. I don't know how strong this woman is but this is a great chance, right, Blow?"

"Of course," Rood retorted, pulling his hood up. He was standing on the balcony rail now and his mana swirled in blue-black tendrils around him.

Ren kind of wanted to reach out and see if his mana was tangible to her but she managed to keep her hands to herself. Now was definitely not the time. "... The target?"

Rood smirked as he watched Dan Marshell wrap his arms around two women. "Found him."

~break~

* * *

 **AN: Multiple POV's and character introductions almost make me want to kms**

 **Is it bad that I haven't proofread this yet? I'm tired and I know it's a little messy but I really wanted to get this chapter done and up.. I'll edit later? LOL**

 **I find that I quite liked writing from Van's perspective in this chapter and anything to do with the Black Magician and Shicmuon. L** **mk what y'all think :)**

 **P.S. I would also like to thank Guest763428, Ilada'Jefiv and Mikkey for your reviews. They were appreciated :))) This one's for you!**


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